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Computer virus affects U.S. drone attacks

According to a report from Wired's Danger Room blog, Predator and Reaper drones have been affected by a persistent computer virus. The U.S. government said they have tried to wipe out the viruses, but they keep coming back. A stronger antivirus program may be needed for the government to withstand future attacks.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

Wired said military network security specialists aren't sure whether the virus and its keylogger were introduced intentionally or by accident. The story said it may be a common type of malware that just happened to end up in the drone network, but government employees say the infection has hit classified and unclassified machines.

Drones are America's top choice in wars, according to Wired. They allow U.S. forces to attack targets and spy on enemies without putting American lives in danger. For important things such as this, better internet security may be in order.